Manufacture of black-plate



Patented Dec. 6, 1898. W. H. BONNER. MANUFACTURE OF BLACK PLATE.

(Application filed Mar. 14, 1898.) (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet I.

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No. 6|5,535. Patented Dec. 6, I898.

. W. H. BONNER.

MANUFACTURE OF BLACK PLATE.

(Application filed Mar. 14, 1898.)

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

wrmessss I mven'ron .THE Norms rzrzas cc Puma-Luna, w As No. 6l5,535. Patented Dec. 6, I898.

W. H. BONNER.

MANUFACTURE OF BLACK PLATE.

(Application filed Mar. 14, 1898.)

(N0 Modem 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

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UNITED STATES I PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM H. BONNER, OF MONESSEN, PENNSYLVANIA.

MANUFACTURE OF BLACK-PLATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 615,535, dated December 6, 3

" Application filed March 14, 1398. Serial No. 673,714. (No specimens] To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. DONNER, of Monessen, in the county of Westmoreland and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Manufacture of Black-Plate, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figures 1, 2, and 3 are diagrammatic plan views, partly in section, showing different forms of plants for the manufacture of black sheet or plate constructed in accordance with my invention.

Heretofore in the manufacture of blackplate or fine sheets, where two stands of rolls have been employed, one for roughing and the other for finishing, a double furnace has been employed having two heating-chambers, the operation being as follows: The tin-plate bars are heated in one of these f u rnace-chambers and then rolled into plates upon the roughing-train. The plate or plates are then placed in theother heating-chamber of the furnace and being brought to the proper temperature are then rolled in the finishing-train and doubled. They are then replaced in the same chamber and again heated and rolled in the finishing-train and doubled into fours. After the doubling and trimming of one of the fours the pack, which has cooled considerably, is replaced in the same furnace-chamber which contains the other packs of doubles. After the doubles are all rolled into fours one pack is taken out, rolled, and doubled into eights, during which operation the pack again cools and is again put back into the same furnace with the remaining packs of fours, this cool pack tending to cool and harden the other packs in the furnace. The remaining packs of fours are similarly rolled successively into eights and replaced in the same furnace-chamber, and the packs of eights are then successively taken out and rolled and finished. The placing of the cooled packs of fours in with the doubles tends to harden and chill the doubles and render them unfit for rolling, and the cooled packs of eights have the same action upon the packs of fours. This hardening of the packs being heated is overcome to some extent by raising the temperature and making the heat more intense; but this action is objectionable, as it tends to scale the iron and to pit its surface. heating of the packs demands a high degree of skill, as there are several packs in the same chamber at the same time, and each pack inserted must be placed so that it will not interfere with the taking out of the other packs to be worked.

Moreover, in the prior system of operation the rolling of the sheets has been a diificult operation on account of the alternate heating and cooling of the rolls. When the iron was rolled in the roughing-train, the finishing-train remained idle, and hence would cool and contract, and after the iron had been roughed the roughing-mill would stand idle and contract and cool, and hence both sets of rolls would often break from the expansion and contraction consequent upon this alternate heating and cooling.

Moreover, the cooling of the rolls changes their contour, so that it is extremely difficult for the roller to obtain accurately-rolled sheets. This is especially the case in the finishing-rolls, which are turned in such a way that when they are heated to a certain point their surfaces will be of the correct shape for rolling sheets, and hence, as the temperature falls while these rolls remain inactive, it will readily be seen that sheets cannot be properly rolled upon them after they have cooled down.

' Where a single stand of rolls was employed, upon which both the roughing and finishing were carried out, this set of rolls would work in a more continuous manner; but as the roughing of the heavy bars causes the rolls to expand much more than after reduction the sheets could not be rolled uniformly, as the rolls were constantly changing in shape or contour.

My invention overcomes these difficulties; and it consists in roughing in one mill and then passing the metal packs in a regular or continuous manner through a finishing mill or mills, so that the finishing-rolls will be continuously maintained at about the same temperature. These rolls can therefore be turned The 7 so that they will be of the proper shape at this temperature and can be kept substantially of this shape.

It also consists in passing the metal continuously or regularly through the roughing-rolls, thus maintaining these rolls continuously at the same temperature, as well as in passing the metal simultaneously and regularly or continuously through both the roughing and the finishing rolls.

It further consists in so arranging and operating the furnaces that after each rolling the metal is placed in a f urnace-chamber separate from that from which it was taken and kept separate from the packs of greater gage being heated, so that they are not chilled by the pack being inserted and may be subjected to a soft mild heat, so as to prevent scaling.

There is no objection to placing the plates first rolled back into the furnace from which the bars are being worked, as the bars have been subjected to a good soaking heat and the plates can be piled between the bars that are being worked and heated to a good advantage without hardening the bars; It should be understood that the plates can be madefrom one bar instead of matching the plates from two or more bars, and they can be finished on the fours, sixes, eights, or any number of ply, depending upon the gage of plate and weight of the bar worked.

In the drawings, referring to the form of Fig. 1, 2 represents a roughing-mill, and 3 and 4 finishing-mills, each provided with a doubling apparatus 5. 6, 7, and 8 are heating furnaces, each preferably provided with two separate chambers, these furnaces being preferably arranged one in front of each pair of rolls, as shown. In making black-sheet with this plant the bars are heated in the chamber a of furnace 7 and then taken out and rolled into plate in the roughing-mill 2. The plates are then taken to the empty chamber 6 of furnace 6 and reheated, and being taken to the rolls 3 are rolled and doubled into fours by the doubler 5, two plates having been matched and rolled together. The fours are then reheated in the chamberf of furnace 6, again rolled in the train 3, and doubled at 5 into eights. The eights are then placed in the empty chamber 9 of furnace 6 and then taken out and finished in the rolls 3. lVhile the eights are being rolled, the bars are being roughed on the mill 2 and the plates successively placed in the empty chamber f of furnace 6, so that the finis'hing-roller as soon as he has finished the last pack can begin with another heat and work the finishing-mill continuously.

At the same time that the above operations are proceeding other bars are heated in the furnace-chamber Z) of furnace 7, roughed on mill 2, and then taken to the finishing-rolls 4 and finished thereon, the operation with these rolls and the furnace 8 being the same as above described with reference to the rolls 3 and the furnace (3. It will be seen that in this operation the doubles, the fours, and the eights are each successively placed in an empty furnacechamber, so that the entering pack does not chill adjacent packs of less gage, as formerly, and little or no skill is required in manipulating the packs, as they do not have to be arranged with reference to other packs in the same chamber.

It will be understood that the two furnacechambers ofeach furnace may communicate with each other by openings in the separatingpartition or that the partition may be removed, giving one large chamber in each furnace, this chamber having two or more doors and in which substantially the same results may be obtained.

In the form of Fig. 2, 9 represents a pair of roughing-rolls, and 10 a pair of finishing-rolls, 11 being the doubler for the rolls. 12 represents a furnace having two chambers g and h and located in front of the roughing-rolls, and 13 a furnace having the two chambers k and Z and located in front of the finishing-train. With this plant the bars are heated in chamber g, rolled into plate in rolls 9, then reheated in chamber h, again rolled at 9, and donbled by the doubler 11. The foursthus formed are then placed in chamber of the furnace 13, rolled in train 10, doubled at 11, and placed in chamber Z of furnace 13 as eights. The eights then being heated are finished in rolls It will be seen that in this form, as in the form of Fig. 1, the packs of similar gage are placed in a furnace-chamber separate from the prior packs and the finishingmill is worked continuously.

It should be understood that in rolling the doubles on the roughing-mill they may not have as fine a surface as where they are rolled on a separate mill; but any slight imperfections of the plate that are produced here can be overcome in the succeeding reduction or reductions. Where the plates are finished on the fours, the doubles can be worked partly on the roughing-mill and partly on the finishing-mill, so as to divide the work and keep each mill working regularly.

In Fig. 3 I show a further form of plant, wherein 14 is the roughing-mill; 15, the mill for rolling the doubles; 16, the mill for rolling the fours, and 17 the mill for finishing the eights. In front of these rolls I locate the furnaces 18, 19, 20, and 21, each having two furnace-chambers. 22 are the doublers for doubling the packs. In operating this plant the bars are heated in the furnace 18 and then roughed upon the mill 14. The bars thus formed are heated in the furnace 19, and being matched together the doubles are rolled in the mill 15 and doubled into fours upon the adjacent doubler 22. The fours are reheated in the furnace 20, rolled upon the mill 16, and doubled into eights upon the other doubler 22. The eights are then heated in the furnace 21 and finished upon the rolls 17. If suitable bar is employed, the bar maybe ICC IIO

rolled long enough upon the first rolling so as to double it, thus saving one heating and rolling and requiring one less mill and two less furnaces; but in any case the furnaces should be so arranged that the finishing-mill can work continuously and remain expanded to the same extent.

It will be seen that in any form of my invention the roughing is being done while the finishing-mill is in operation, so that as soon as one pack is finished another is ready to be acted upon by the finishing-mill. The dou- ,.bles areall finished and placed ina heatingchamber before rolling the fours and similarly with the fours and eights, the packs of similar gage all being successively placed in the same furnace-chamber or portion of the chamber separate from the packs of greater gage-i. e. those subjected to one less rolling operation.

In any of the furnaces shown or in other suitable furnaces which may be employed in carryingout myinvention a single large chamber may be employed with separate openings closed by doors or with a long opening closed by a series of doors.

In Fig. 3 I have shown one set of rolls for roughing. It is preferable, however, to have two rolls for this purpose arranged side by side and divide the work on the two rolls, as this reduction is much harder on the rolls than any succeeding reduction, and these rolls should be placed close together, so that either one of them can be reached conveniently from the furnace and the roller can use them alternately.

The advantages of my invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The placing of the packs in proximity to other packs in the furnace is avoided, so that the chilling of the packs is prevented, allowing them to be brought to a much better condition for working. Moreover, the high degree of skill before necessary in inserting and re placing the packs is done away with, and this operation may be carried out with cheap unskilled labor. The danger of scaling the sheets is lessened and the output increased.

As the finishing-mills are worked in a regular or continuous manner, they are kept at substantially the same temperature, and hence preserve the same shape, so that a uniform action is obtained, giving a better prodnot than was heretofore possible. In rolling the plates in any of the sets of rolls, the plates or packs are of course passed through such sets several times in succession on each heating thereof, as in ordinary practice. Thus after the bars are heated they are passed through the roughing-rolls from three to five times in succession and then reheated. In the second operation they are passed through the rolls from two to four times and the packs reheated,and similarly in the third and fourth operations, the packs being given several passes between each reheating.

Many changes may be made in the form and arrangement of the furnaces, the rolls, and the doublers without departing from my invention, since What I claim is 1. The method of making black sheets which consists of heating a plurality of series of packs, rolling each pack successively by giving it a series of passes through the rolls, doubling each pack, reheating the doubled packs in series, rolling each pack successively by giving it a series of passes through the finishing-rolls, and continuously supplying thepacks in series to the furnaces, and to the rolls so as to keep the latter at substantially a uniform temperature, substantially as described.

2. The method of making black-sheets which consists of heating a plurality of series of packs, rolling each pack successively by giving it a series of passes through the rolls, doubling each pack, placing the doubled packs in series in a furnace-chamber at a point remote from those being rolled, rolling each pack successively by giving it a series of passes through the finishing rolls, and continuously supplying the packs in series to the furnaces, and to the rolls so as to keep the latter at substantially a uniform temperature, substantially as described.

3. The method of making black-sheets, which consists of heating a plurality of series of bars, breaking down such bars successively by giving each bar a series of passes upon a roughingmill, forming them into series of packs, inserting the rolled packs of a series in a furnace-chamber and heating them, giving each rolled pack a succession of passes through the rolls, doubling or matching the rolled packs and inserting them in series in a furnace-chamber at a point remote from the bars taken from the roughing-mill, and supplying the metal continuously in a regular manner to the rolls so as to keep them of the same shape or contour; substantially as described.

4:. The method of making black sheets, which consists of heating a plurality of series of doubles, rolling them successively by a series of passes through one mill, doubling them into fours, placing the series of fours in a furnace-chamber at a point remote from the doubles so as to avoid chilling the doubles, rolling the fours into eights by a succession of passes through another mill, heating the series of eights separately from the fours and then rolling the eights by a series of passes through the finishing-rolls; and supplying the metal continuously in a regular manner to the furnaces and to the rolls so as to keep the latter of a constant shape or contour, sub stantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

\VILLIAM II. DONNER,

IVitnesses: THOMAS W. BAKEWELL, G. I. HOLDSHIP.

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